The first few weeks in student accommodation are a lot at once
Moving into student accommodation is exciting, but it also asks a lot of you all at once. You’re settling into a new room, learning a new city, and living alongside people you’ve only just met — all while your course is starting.
It’s normal for the first few weeks to feel like a mix of brilliant and overwhelming, sometimes in the same afternoon.
Knowing that in advance makes it easier to handle. If you’re moving to the UK from abroad, our guide for international students covers the extra steps worth sorting early.
Give your room a reason to feel like yours
A student room starts out fairly blank, and that can feel oddly impersonal for the first night or two. Making it feel like yours doesn’t take much.
A few photos, your own bedding, a plant, and some lighting beyond the overhead bulb change how the space feels almost immediately.
Before you start settling in, it’s worth running through a quick move-in day checklist — checking the condition of your room and reporting anything already damaged protects your deposit later.
- Bring something familiar from home for the first night — it makes a difference
- Sort out your bed and desk first, before the rest of the unpacking
- Check what your room already provides so you don’t double up on kit
The shared kitchen is where you actually meet people
In most student buildings, the shared kitchen does more social work than any organised event. It’s where flatmates cross paths, cook at the same time, and end up talking. You don’t need to force friendships here — proximity does a lot of the work over the first fortnight. Being around, saying yes to a shared meal, and keeping your shared space reasonable all help more than you’d expect.
- Label your food and keep your shared shelves tidy — small things prevent friction
- Say yes to the first few kitchen hangouts even when you’re tired
- Cook something simple you can offer to share — it breaks the ice fast
Making friends takes longer than freshers’ week suggests
Freshers’ week is loud, fast and social, and it can leave you thinking everyone else has already found their people. They haven’t. Most real friendships at university form slowly, over weeks, through repeated small contact — course seminars, your building’s kitchen, societies you keep going back to. If the first week felt more lonely than the adverts promised, that’s common and it isn’t a sign anything’s wrong.
- Join two or three societies and actually return to them, not just the first taster
- Keep your door open when you’re in and around — literally and socially
- Give it until reading week before you judge how settled you feel
Build a loose routine before the term runs away
The freedom of student life is great until it quietly becomes chaos. Nobody’s telling you when to sleep, eat or study, and the first few weeks are when good habits are easiest to set. A loose structure — not a rigid timetable — keeps the practical side from piling up while you’re busy adjusting to everything else. If procrastination creeps in once the initial excitement wears off, our guide on stopping procrastination at university covers why starting tasks gets harder in a new environment, and simple ways to lower that barrier.
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- Pick regular times for food shopping, laundry and washing up
- Find your study spots early — your room, the library, a café you like
- Keep one anchor in the week: a class, a club, a standing plan with someone
Homesickness is normal, and it usually passes
Missing home doesn’t mean you’ve made the wrong choice. It’s one of the most common things first-years feel, and it tends to ease as the place starts to feel familiar. What helps is staying connected to home without retreating into it — a regular call with family is good, going home every weekend usually isn’t, because it slows down settling in where you are.
- Schedule calls home rather than defaulting to them when you feel low
- Resist going home every weekend in the first month if you can
- Give yourself small things to look forward to in your new city
Know where support is before you need it
Most universities and many purpose-built residences have more support than students realise, and knowing where it is takes the pressure off. Your building often has a residential or wellbeing team, and universities run student services for everything from money worries to mental health. Finding out who to contact early means you’re not searching for it on a bad day.
- Save your accommodation’s front desk or residential team contact
- Find your university’s wellbeing and student services in week one
- Register with a local GP soon after you arrive
The adjustment is the point, not a problem
The energy the first few weeks take isn’t a sign something’s going wrong — it’s what adjusting to a big change actually feels like. Almost every first-year goes through some version of it, even the ones who look completely settled. Give it time, keep showing up to the ordinary things, and the new place gradually becomes home.
Frequently asked questions
Is it normal to feel overwhelmed in the first few weeks of university?
Yes. Adjusting to a new room, a new city, new people and a new course all at once takes real energy, and most first-years feel some version of overwhelmed early on. It usually eases as things become familiar.
How do I make friends if freshers’ week didn’t go well?
Most university friendships form slowly through repeated contact rather than in one big week. Returning to the same societies, seminars and shared kitchen spaces over the first few weeks matters more than any single event.
What’s the best way to meet the people I live with?
The shared kitchen does most of the work. Being around at cooking times, saying yes to shared meals, and keeping communal spaces tidy all help you get to know your flatmates naturally.
How do I deal with homesickness at university?
Stay connected to home without retreating into it. Regular scheduled calls help, but going home every weekend in the first month can slow down settling in where you are. Homesickness is common and usually eases with time.
Where can I get support if I’m struggling in my first term?
Many purpose-built residences have a residential or wellbeing team, and universities run student services covering wellbeing, money and mental health. It helps to find out who to contact early, and to register with a local GP soon after you arrive.
The photo in this article was generated with AI.
